On the final Tuesday of the year, we celebrated all the hard work from students and staff with our first ever rewards trip, and so it was an all-day extravaganza of bowling, pizza and cinema. Held on the hottest day every recorded in England, it quickly emerged that perhaps one of the biggest 'rewards' on the trip for everyone was the glacial air conditioning of the buildings which provided welcome relief from the sun's heat.
Starting with bowling, we were split into teams with the students by and large taking on the staff (with the exception of Benjamin, the English teacher, moonlighting in this case as a student). Both sides talked a good talk but when it came to it the students won the contest by an almost embarrassingly comfortable margin: there were at least 100 points in it! All players contributed to this victory, spurring on their teammates, as their bowling skills steadily emerged. With the students' heads held high, it was the perfect time to celebrate the victory in the best way possible - pizza!
We crossed a seemingly Saharan parking lot, to get to Pizza Hut, where an esoteric range of discussions were had over lunch, covering everything from NFTs (mostly from students, to miffed staff, who - much to the amusement of the students - still have no clue what this means), cryptocurrencies (same again) and Stranger Things (where the adults surprisingly held their own).
The day ended in the thankfully air-conditioned cinema, where some of us managed to watch Minions, while others struggled against pizza induced sleepiness. Regardless of how it was experienced - that is, with both eyes wide open or with both eyes fighting against the infinite weight of drowsy eyelids - the movie was a relaxing and enjoyable way to end the year.
It was a wonderful day, and an invaluable chance to get to spend time outside the school setting. At Orange Tree we really believe in celebrating achievement, and can not wait for the next rewards trip, not simply as an acknowledgement of the great progress being made, but also as a great chance to get to know each other better.
Benjamin Kastin, English Teacher